Up North again--finally!

We went up north to the cottage for the first time since before my hip surgery. The Fall colors were a couple weeks past peak, but beautiful. We went for walks, carved pumkins, and went bike riding by the lake. I am getting better at pedaling, and really took off when the sound of a car behind me scared me! When I go too slow, I just watch my feet go up and down with the pedals. I like to go fast, but mom and dad are cautious. So, I took off a bit on my own, and pedaled 4-5 times at a time! I am sure I will be a pro at riding in no time. The pic on the left is of me by the campfire, in a 'joe dirt' wig that was at the cottage from a few Halloween's ago. Mom, Dad, Corinne and Lori thought it was hilarious. We saw a lot of deer and Turkeys too. We checked out the river and the lake for fall colors. It was a very fun weekend. It was pretty chilly, and I dozed off by the fire when mommy was reading me a book. The air is a lot fresher up there, it seems!!!!

Homecoming OMG!!!!

Here are a few shots of my girls--Kylie, Erin and Morgan. Morgan is in the yellow dress. They had ---OMG----HOMECOMING last weekend! Mommy doesn't know how to set the camera correctly, and erased a few really cute pics of me, Erin and Morgan at the Madigan's house. :( Then, the camera was only saving like 6 pictures at a time, cuz somehow it got set to a weird billion-resloution pixel thingy. Anyway, now I have to wait and bug Aunt Joan and Aunt Jen for better pics of my beautiful cousins.

Sounds like a good time was had by all at HC, and mommy and I had fun being a part of the festivities. We followed Morgan and Aunt Jen to Sabrina's house for pictures and they got a limo!!! Aunt Joan had bunches of kids coming and going from her house for pictures and (of course!) had a ton of food and drinks for the kids. Mommy says it seems like just yesterday that she was at homecoming. I saw pictures, and her hair was waaaaayyyy bigger than Kylie, Erin and Morgans. She said something about back-combing it and that was 'the look' back in the day. whatever! She and Daddy went to a couple homecomings together. He had a sort of mullet looking thing. I am glad that people are opting for more subdued hair styles these days.

My girls are so so smart and beautiful inside, it gushes out and makes them beautiful on the outside too. :)

Cancer Sucks.

The 3 Day was incredible. MI had a record number of walkers and raised $7.2M!!!
The weather was great, the support was amazing, and the route was beautiful. Day 1 started with opening ceremonies--very touching and emotional, seeing thousands of walkers and crew getting fired up for the journey with the goal of eliminating breast cancer forever. We began at OCC Orchard Ridge campus in Farmington Hills. Our route took us through Farmington Hills, with our destination for camp at Rotary Park in Livonia. Closing Ceremonies were at Henry Ford in Dearborn.
I am very glad that Farm Hills was Day 1 and not Day 2 or 3! I grew up in Sterling Heights, and never saw any Heights. I lived in Pleasant Ridge for a while, and don't recall a single Ridge. Let me tell you, Farmington HILLS is true to its name! HOLY HILLS! :)
Day 2 took us around Livonia and Plymouth--there was a 4 city block long line of supporters cheering us on and thanking us for walking. All along the route there are people that sit on their front porches, in shopping strip malls, or at cheering stations. Many with tears in their eyes, urging us to keep walking and thanking us. It helps! There are also the Dancing Lady, the EMS trucks with the music blaring, and the sweep vans and supporters that drive along the route, honking and cheering. My favorite is the kids--they clap and cheer and high five us, not really aware yet why they are there, but no doubt remembering it forever. This time, Sarah and I made a group of kids giggle hysterically when we high-fived their Webkinz they were holding!

It ends with closing ceremonies--a very emotional ceremony that showcases survivors (while we walkers bend our aching bodies on one knee in a show of respect--many survivors walked along with us those 60 miles, and shower them with pink roses we were given upon finishing the walk), reminds us of why we walk, and gets us fired up for next year!
One of the things that kept me going this year was I saw along the route every day, a woman holding a posterboard sized photograph of a newborn in his mommy's arms. Mommy was kissing the baby. Mommy had lost all of her hair from Chemo. The woman holding the sign had a sign around her neck that said 'This is Me!' She now had a full head of hair, looked totally healthy, and the baby is 7 months old. When I got tired, I thought of her and all the other mommies that don't want to leave their babies. Ever.
Thank you again to all of my supporters. I am crewing it next year, and if you want to join me, lemme know! BTW, my feet aren't as gross as they were last time---so no pics. :( I guess it pays to learn from experience!!!

Time flies

I can't believe it is officially Autumn. Where does the time go? I will be walking in the Breast Cancer 3 day this weekend--60 miles over the course of 3 days. Thank you to all of my supporters for donating and helping to research a cure for this devastating disease. It has been 19 years (almost to the day the walk starts!) that I lost my mom to Breast Cancer. I walk because everyone deserves a lifetime. She was taken from us far too soon, and we miss her dearly. One of Drew's nicknames is 'Beans' cuz she would think he is 'full of beans'. I see her mischief in Drew sometimes--and know that she is one of the angels he communicates with on a regular basis. T Bone is up there too, as is Jason, among others we were blessed enough to have known. :)

Drew is doing well in his new class. His teacher Mary looooooooves Elvis. I got all excited when I thought she meant Elvis Costello, but no, she loves Elvis Presley. There are pics of him all over the room--even in the bathroom! They had special olympics the other day at Woodlands, and I was surprised to hear Drew enjoyed himself. He is usually so bored at that---he is like 'can't we just sit outside and enjoy the fresh air??' The pic above is from a few years ago and he looks like he is sooooooo over the whole thing. He was just waiting for lunch! Funny thing is, this time he won a ribbon for 5th place in something. I certainly hope they recycle those ribbons, and he got that more as a participant ribbon, cuz, really?? 5th place in the special olympics????? His age group does stuff like 'stationary ball hit'. okay? HMMMMM. Maybe less music appreciation and more emphasis on sports in is order. Speaking of which, he got allllllllllllll excited when he heard "if the house is a-rockin', don't bother knockin'" from Stevie Ray Vaughan on our MP3 player yesterday. The boy has good taste.

I am planning on posting gross pics of my feet this year after the 3day. I have an outlet now! Check back next week for an update on how many blisters and how many nails i lost---it is sooooo worth it tho. Cancer sucks.

Gettin' back in the Groove

Drew is healing well--his hip is less tender but we still cannot bear weight or resume therapy. Another week of taking it easy, then I am sooooo putting him back to work! I can't wait to get him back on his new bike---now that his leg is not pulling in, he should be able to learn how to pedal (i hope) and feel himself make himself move.

I kept him home Monday, but he has been back to school since Tuesday. He is in a new classroom (they age out into diff classrooms so the kids are grouped by age as well as ability) but I am convincing him that he 'graduated' to this new class, and there will be more expected of him.

I really like his new teacher and aides--you can tell they love what they do, and he will have a great time in there. There is a piano in there that his teacher plays, and on Fridays they have a big 'ol hootenanny. How fun is that!? I will be buying sheet music for all of our fave bands(wait, do they sell sheet music for Jimmy Buffet and Black Eyed Peas??)

Maddy (Drew's BFF and future wife) is not in his class and we miss her already. She is only in the room next door--and we have seen her a few times already---but still.

I didn't take any pics of Drew this week, but here is his baseball picture. Notice the 'Game Face' on him---how intimidating!!!

Rainy and Pain-y

This weekend has been full of rain and full of pain for Boogie. :( His left hip is really sore and his legs are tight. He loves being in the jacuzzi, even fell asleep while I was holding him!

Hopefully the pain is lessening with each new day--in the meantime the pain meds are a blessing!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Joanie! We love you!!!!

Free at last...

Today is the day! We got the cast off--Drew continues to amaze us. I told the woman removing the cast she may want to shut the door, cuz the loud saw would probably freak him out. It didn't. He giggled. She cut the top half off, and sent us home to take the bottom half off when we got home--he can't sit yet so we couldn't put him in the car seat. We were told to expect pain, spasms, sensitivity and general crabbiness for the next week or so, while his legs get used to moving again and the muscles warm up. We kept the bottom of the cast on for a while, while he laid there, to see what he would do. He started wiggling his feet, and pulling his legs up a little at a time. We had given him some tylenol before we left the doc, and an hour into it, he is moving his legs and not crabbing! I am sure the meds are helping. His legs are still really tight--we will put him in a warm bath and massage tonight. He can weight bear in a couple weeks and start therapy then too. Till then, it's baby steps.

We are having a CAST OFF-DANCE OFF tonight--but Drew won't be doing much dancing. At least I can hold him and dance with him now!!!!! I am breaking out my ABBA greatest hits CD for the occasion. :)

Thanks for all the support this past month...Drew is a trooper and we are so proud of him.

We remember those who were lost 7 years ago--most importantly, Thank God for our soldiers who keep us free and safe.